Tag: fight preview

Forget Ortiz vs. Bonnar. Forget Werdum vs. Hunt (lol jk). Justin Gaethje vs. Melvin Guillard is going down at WSOF 15 this weekend with the lightweight championship on the line and promises to be the most knock-down, drag-out, didyouseethatbro barnburner of them all. Both fighters have become well known for their relentless aggression and knockout power, and both have promised to put a serious hurtin’ on the other, so what else do you need to get excited for this fight, you buncha nerds?

“How about a few of their recent fight videos accompanied by some base-level insight and a noncommittal prediction, Danga?”

Well, YOU FUCKIN’ GOT IT. Here…we…GO!

The Challenger

(Sorry for the quality, but the original got pulled. GEE I WONDER WHY.)

Look, you already know who Melvin Guillard is, how he fights, which one-hit wonder he fashioned his look after, etc. Gaethje vs. Guillard is one of those rare matchups where the challenger is actually more of a household name than the champion — like Weidman vs. Belfort or Martinez vs. Zimmer. This fact has not been lost on Guillard, who recently told MMAMania that he is “an A-list fighter, fighting in the B-league” and that Gaethje is “nowhere near his level.”

While it’s evident that humility (and submission defense) cannot be found among Guillard’s many great qualities, a few things that *can* be found among them are a lightning fast jab, a murderous left hook, and at the risk of sounding racist, explosive athleticism. Simply put, when Guillard is having an on night, it’s his ability to get off first that usually leads him to victory. He may be in perpetual search of the highlight reel KO, but Guillard is also a tactician when it comes to how he mixes up his combinations with body shots and leg kicks. Guillard also has great head movement and takedown defense, and it’s his confidence in said takedown defense that allows him to throw from the clinch with reckless abandon, where he has overwhelmed many a fighter with the pure volume of strikes he is willing to throw.

(“Why yes, I did smell what The Rock was cooking. In fact, I went back for seconds. Why do you ask?”)

“Anthony Johnson is trying to shed the tarnish of being one of the best welterweights in the world…that couldn’t make the weight.”

In the opening moments of the extended preview for this weekend’s second World Series of Fighting event, we are informed of the above dilemma facing former UFC contender Anthony Johnson by a silky-voiced narrator — over a melancholic piano soundtrack of course, because emotions. And while this bit of info would usually serve as the precursor to an inspiring tale of Johnson’s welterweight redemption, it kind of loses its pop when you realize that Johnson is now fighting at upwards of 50 pounds heavier than he was in the UFC.

But it is Johnson’s horizontal expansion that takes center stage in the above preview, understandably yet somewhat still puzzlingly juxtaposed with Andrei Arlovski’s own tale of hopeful redemption. It’s a shame that Dana White has already publicly written off the fight as “not legit,” or the (implied) idea that we could see “The Pitbull” back in the UFC would probably hold a lot more water in the above preview. Ditto for the idea that Arlovski could do so by beating up a former welterweight who has been fighting at light heavyweight for less than a year now. Then again, if you’re like Sherdog’s Jordan Breen, who is also featured in the video, you probably think “weight classes” and “champions” of said “weight classes” are meaningless restrictions meant for little more than depriving MMA fans for the fights they truly want to see (SUPER HLUK TOURNEY NEVER DIE!).

Featuring some highlights of Johnson and Arlovski crushing their respective cans at WSoF 1, as well as the aforementioned interviews with everyone from Eddie Alvarez to renowned trainer Mike Winkeljohn, check out an extended preview of WSoF 2 after the jump, along with a full rundown of the card.

The correct answer to that question is “yes.” Unless Diaz loses of course, in which case we will be treated to another half-assed pseudo retirement tirade. Should be fun.

It ain’t Primetime, but this video gave us our fix for the day. Besides, Countdown to UFC 158 will premiere on Fuel TV at 11 p.m EST tonight, so if this snippet ain’t doing it for you, the full special surely will.

On December 7th, 2011, a date which will live in infamy a date upon which some lame stuff happened but probably didn’t quite compare to the violent inception of the United States’ involvement in the deadliest war in recorded history, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierreblew out his ACL while training for a bout with Nick Diaz. Fast-forward almost a year and GSP is set to make his return in his hometown of Montreal, this time against interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit. But much like a year ago, the focus is on GSP’s knee. Has it healed completely and will it hold up against Condit’s leg kicks? Will GSP possess the same degree of athleticism that he’s been able to rely on in the past? Will GSP lose because of it?

In short, probably not. This isn’t to say Condit has no chance to win. To the contrary, he’s the most formidable challenger GSP has faced since Jon Fitch, and he’s got a better chance to win. He can match St. Pierre in striking, and if he’s taken down he possesses an active guard. His jiu-jitsu probably isn’t capable of submitting St. Pierre, unless the latter is already stunned with strikes, but it may be enough to get up off his back should he be taken down. Best of all, Condit has a clear target to go for: GSP’s knee. St. Pierre can claim his knee is fine all he wants, but it’s unquestionably a weakness that Condit will seek to exploit for the entire fight.

Furthermore, it’s hard to tell what St. Pierre will step into the ring. Will he be hesitant to engage and overly tentative? (GSP’s critics just jumped up and shouted “But he alreadyis!”) If he gets backed up consistently he’ll get tagged, and there’s no telling how he’ll react to that. GSP isn’t all athleticism and explosiveness, but these traits undoubtedly give him a decided edge over virtually all of his opponents — and after 19 months out of the Octagon, he may not look like the same fighter. There are a large number of legitimate questions that surround St. Pierre’s return, and there’s no real way to answer them until we see him in action Saturday night.

That said, I don’t think they all need to be answered to favor St. Pierre…

Say what you want about how Griffin has looked in the octagon as of late (Seriously, do it. Here are a few adjective suggestions: sluggish, apathetic, hairy, manic-depressive), but even we couldn’t have seen this coming. When it was announced a few days ago that Sonnen would making his return to 205 lbs at UFC 155 against FoGriff after being tarred and feathered coming up short in his rematch with Anderson Silva, we expected that he would open as a small favorite with the former Light Heavyweight champ, if not even. Despite Griffin’s aforementioned lack of firepower lately, especially considering he was riding the TRT train for his last bout, Forrest is pretty massive for a light heavyweight, and you know, already beat Sonnen once before. There is also the fact that Sonnen’s last fight in the UFC at light heavyweight ended in submission (you know which one), and that Griffin managed to catch him with that exact same submission in their first, etc…

In either case, we were dead wrong.

Currently, BestFightOdds has Sonnen listed at an even -300 over Griffin, which must be based entirely on their respective performances against Anderson Silva, with Sonnen lasting roughly six and a half rounds and Griffin lasting roughly three and a half minutes. But those were a long three and a half minutes, you guys, like watching the puppy you got for Christmas fall through the ice in your Grandma’s pond and drown in slow motion…on that very same Christmas.

Needless to say, if this blatant disrespect doesn’t light a fire under Griffin’s ass, nothing will. We feel like we’ve typed that a lot lately.

Is that line as bad as we’re making it out to be? Join us after the jump for a good old fashioned head-to-head breakdown to see if our outrage is justified.